Barium mesotrisilicate phosphor



March 4, 1952 Filed Feb. l, 1947 K. H. BUTLER 2,587,592

BARIUM MESOTRISILICATE PHOSPHOR 2 SHEETS-ShEET l CONTOUR DIAGRAM 0F BLUE EMISSION BA0PB0-Sl0 SYSTEM 9d JO STOW INVENTOR.

Keith /7. But/er Arron/v5 r March 4, 1952 K. H. BUTLER BARIUM MESOTRISILICATE PHOSPHOR 2 SI-lEETS-SHEET 2 Filed Feb. 1, 1947 32 El om W52 52 9 w; E 3 m i 2 3 ow om INVEN TOR.

Keith H. But/er BY ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 4, 1 952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 21587592" a I r ARIUM MEs'oTmsmIcATE rnosi fioit h 7 Keith Butler, Marblehead, 'Mass,-, assignor to I I z SyIv'aiiia Electric Pioducts 1110., .Salem, Mass,

' a corporation otMa'ssachuse'tts Application February 1, 1947, Serial No. 725,779

, 1 Claim.- 1

This invention relates to luminescent materials and more particularly to a barium silicate' phosphor capable ofexcitation by short wavelength U. V. light.

An object of this invention is to provide a barium silicate phosphor adapted to be used in the preparation of a blue florescent lamp or as the'blue component in fluorescent lamps of other colors.

A further object is to provide a phosphor for use in sign tubing. I

I have discovered certain lead- -activated barium silicate phosphors which emit blue and bluegreen light when excited by 2537 A. radiation. 1 have found that many -of these phosphors may be employed advantageously in the field of fluorescent lighting and that they present certain advantages over some of the tungstate phosphors such as calcium lead tungstate which hasbeen used heretofore in making fluorescent lamps.- Inthe preparation of some of these lead-activated barium silicates, which are described more in detail below, I have found that the lead component. which acts as the activator, also modifies the color. Thus variations in the lead content enables one to obtain a variety of shades of color between blue and green without the necessity of blending two or more matrices. This feature is also advantageous because it provides an accurately controllable materialwhich may be used as the blue-green component when blended with zinc beryllium silicates in the preparation of 3500 white, 4500 White and 6500 daylight-lamps, for example. Another feature of the lead-activated barium silicate phosphors of my invention is that they provide more saturated colors than are obtainable from tungstate phosphors.

Further objects, advantages, and features will be apparent from the following specification in which:

Figure 1 is a contour diagram of blueemission,

Figure 2 is a contour diagram of green emission.

It is well known that bariumsilicates exist as four compounds of definite composition, namely, barium orthosilicate, barium metasilicate, barium mesotrisilicate, and barium disilicate. I have discovered that the metasilicate, the mesotrisilicate and the disilicate can be activated lead so that-uponexcitation by 253? radiation, they;

emit blue or blue-green light depending upon their composition. However, I have discovered thatthe orthosilicate cannot be activated by lead. I have also discovered certain double silicates of barium and lead which also fluoresce blue and. blue-green. In contrast to other silicate phosl phors, a very high concentration of activator can beemployed.

I have found also that useful fluorescent materials can be made over a very wide range of composition; for example, the ratio of the lead to barium may vary from .0l-1.30 and the ratio of silicic acid to barium may vary from 1.0 to 1.8, provided that additional silicic acid is used in sufficient quantity to form the metasilicate of the lead used. This variation has certain limitations which will be apparent from a study of Figures 1 and 2. For example, the combination of low lead content with low silicicacid content gives a poorly fluorescent material. The high lead contents should be combined with relatively low silicic acid content. H

It has been my practice to determine the efiiciency and the color of the fiurescent light simultaneously, by illuminating the phosphor with light from a low pressure mercury arc in a quartz envelope, which light emits a large amountof 2537 A. radiation. The fluorescent light emitted by the'sample is measured by a Weston Photronic cell after passage through a suitable filter. As,

filters, I customarily employ Wratten tricolor gelatin filters cemented in glass. I measure the blue, green and red components of the fluorescent light. Since this procedure gives only an arbitrary measurement I measure also a standard powder along with each sample and express the output of the sample as a percentage of this standard for eachcolor. For testing the fluorescent materials described in this specification, calcium lead- -tungstate;-suchas is commonly employed-in making blue fluorescent lamps, was'sele'cted asthe' standard;

.The emission of red light is usually negligible: so that these readings are not tabulated herein For measurement of longwave U. V. light emitted,j

a Corning #5860 filter is employed in place of the Wratten Tricolor filter and, the standard powder for comparison is a calcium cerium phosphate made according" to the method. described by In this Way I Toorks 2,402.855. Measurements of the emission TABLE III have been made on a large number of samples covering a wide range and results selected from M01 9011190891011 OfPhOSPhOrthese measurements are shown in Tables I and Lumens visual 11 below. In these tables the term net S102 5 $102 per Watt Appearance refers to the number of mols of silicic acid per B90 Pbo mol of barium, after subtracting one mol silicic Total Net acid for each mol of lead used in making the 1 O2 1 22 n 4 9 1 t fluorescent material. From the measurement in 8 these tables and others, Figures 1 and 2 have 10 ii I93 i123 i123 i213 G ie i s lfBlue. been drawn. These figures show as contour lines 1:3 :3 1: {13 g gg gg g the emission, measured through the blue and Blue. green filters, as affected by composition. The

visual efiect of the emitted light when the phos- I have subjected a number of powders to X-ray phor is made mto a lamp, of course, varies with examination and obtained powder diffraction the relative proportiqn of blue and green photographs. Measurements of these show that ponents and the effiflency in terms of 5 distinct patterns exist for barium silicates a va i with the ratio of b o green as l containing more silicic acid than is required to as with e u p t of fiudresce'nt'li'ght- This form a metasilicate. These are listed in Table eifect is illustrated in TableIII, for 20 wattfluo- 20 IV and are designated as patterns A, B, C, D, rescent lamps. and E.

TABLE IV X-ray powder difiraction patterns-Estimated intensity and interplanar spacing-Substance A B o D E w 3 077 m 3.69 m 3.745 w 5.25 ww 6.778 ww 3539 m 3.38 w 3.648 -ww 3.62 ww 5.076 w 3408 w 3.05 w 3.294 w 3.40 m 3.95 w 3326 w 2.73 w 3.230 ms 3.33 w 3.795 w 3.103 ww 2.59 w 3.114 w 299 ww 3.729 ww 2.804 ww 2.47 w 2.770 w 2.74 ww 3.547 WW 2735 w 2.27 w 2.347 ww 2.57 w 3.411 ww 2.694 w 2.22 w 2.265 w 2.10 w 3.326 ww 2.575 ww 2.12 ww 2.228 w 2.14 w 3.226 w 2345' w 2.07 i w 2131 ww 2.09 m 3.082 w 2.290 ww 2.03 .ww 2.032 m 2.04 ww 2.705 w 2.232 ww 1.90 WW 2034 w 7 1.33 w 2.707 ww 2130 ww 1.86 ww 1.973 w 1 32 WW 2503 ww 2.129 ww 1.70 ww 1.915 ww 2.327 w 2.075 ww 1.55 ww 1.877 w 2.224 w 2038 ww 1 39 ww 1.790 ww 2.191 w 1.892 ww 2.160, ww 1.847 w 2.122

Estimated intensity legend:

ww-very weak. w-weak. i m-medium. ms-medium strong. TABLEI Pattern A is found for phosphors containing Blue reading from 1.0 to 1.3 mols of silicic and per mol of i barium when the lead content 1s less than .05 Net M015 mol of lead per mol of barium. It is identical 2 60 wtih the pattern of non-fluorescent powder con- L05 1,20 60 L75 taining one mol of barium per mol of silicic acid and I believe it to be the pattern of barium 22 31 35 4 metasilicate, BaSiQa. 7 g 59 $2 Pattern B is found in phosphors containing- 55 III: 68 55 from .05 to .40 mol of lead per mol of barium, 75 55 56 31 when the silicic acid content is 1.2 for each mol 04 04 49 65 61 35 of barium, with, in add1t1on, 1.0 mol of $111010 28 g; 32 acid for each mol of lead present.

Pattern C is found for phosphors containing from 0.01 to 0.60 mol of lead per mol of barium TABLE II when the silicic acid is 1.5 mols per each mol of barium and 1.0 mol for each mol of lead. This GTeen Teadmg pattern is identical with that of-non-fluorescent N t M Sio powder containing 1.5 mols of silicic acid for each M015 6 2 mol of barium and I believe it to be that of PhD barium mesotrisilicate, BazSiaOs. In the case of 0 3 50 1 patterns B and C, a slight deviation from the 38 specified silicic acid content has no obvious effect 107 105 on the X-ray powder diffraction pattern.

38 jjjjjj o Pattern D is found for phosphors containing 1 3 121 43 0.3 to 0.75 mol of lead per mol of barium when of 1.0 mol per mol of lead'being also present.

the silicic acid content is 1.2 mols per mol of barium, with additional silicic acid in the ratio.

' 7: It is also found-for phosphors containing .12 to .6 mol of lead'per mol of barium, when the silicic acid content is 1.0- mol for each mol of lead plus 1.5 mols for each mol of barium present. The relative proportions. of these four compounds in various prosphors prepared according to the method of this invention are shown in Table V.

TABLE V Mol Composition of Phosphor ifii gig ggi g grggg B80 PbO A B c D Total Net 1. 02 1. 22 1. 2 S 1. 0 1U 1. 30 1. 2 S 1. O 30 l. 50 1. 2 W M 1. O 50 1. 70 1. 2 WW S 1. 0 75 1. 95 1. 2 S 1. 0 04 1. 54 1. 5 S 1. 0 12 1. 62 1. 5 S WW 1. 0 30 1. 80 1. 5 M M 1. 0 50 2. U0 1. 5 MS 1. 0 60 2. 10 1. 5 W MS Relative intensity legend:

strong. MS-medium strong. M-medium. W-weak. WW-very weak. ()not present.

Pattern E is found in the case of powders containing above about 1.55 mols of silicic acid per mol of barium with lead contents of the order of .02 mol.

When the silicic acid is intermediate between 1.2 and 1.5 net mols per mol of barium, X-ray powder difiration patterns show the presence of compounds giving patterns A and C or B and C, or B and D indicating that mixtures exist. When the silicic acid is intermediate between about 1.55 and 2.0 net mols per mol of barium, patterns C and E are both found and the powder shows some longwave U. V. emission indicating definitely the presence of barium disilicate. However, this mixture emits blue or blue-green visible light and has therefore some new and useful properties making it distinct from the pure barium disilicate phosphor prepared with more than 2.0 mols of silicic acid per mol of barium.

In the preparation of phosphors, it has been my custom to use 1 mol of silicic acid for each mol of lead present and to express the difference between the total mols of silicic acid and the amount used to form the lead metasilicate as the net SiOz which is free to combine with the barium to form a barium silicate. I prefer to use the following method of preparation, though may be employed without departing from the spirit of my invention. Suflicient quantities of silicic acid, of barium carbonate and of lead carbonate to make the desired composition are wet milled in water using ball mills containing flint pebbles for 2 to 16 hours. After milling, the mixture is filtered and the cake dried, crushed or dry ground, and fired in silica vessels for about 4 hours at a suitable temperature. The firing temperature required depends to a considerable extent on the composition of the phosphor and may vary from 1600 to 2100 F. In general, the metasillcate phosphors require higher firing temperatures than the mesotrisilicate phosphors. Also, with increasing lead content the firing temperature must be lowered considerably.

the rawmaterials used. The function of. this cata: lyst is to accelerate the reaction between the raw materials and permit firing at a lower temperature. This reduction in. firing. temperature results in a reduction in particle size: of the fluorescent powder. However, such a catalyst is not essential to the preparation of the phosphors and may be omitted if desired.

- As an example of my invention, I prepared a phosphor by wet milling together 400 grams of barium carbonate, 60 grams of leadcarbonate, 230 grams of silicic acid containing about 88% S102 and 4 grams of barium fluoride. This mixture was ground in a 1 gallon porcelain jar mill with flint pebbles for about 8 hours using 1800 cc. of water as the suspending agent. The resulting suspension was filtered, dried, and crushed. It was then charged into silica vessels and fired for 4 hours at a temperature of 1880 F. after which it was removed from the furnace and allowed to cool in the air. The resulting powder was removed from the crucible, crushed. to pass a 40 mesh sieve, and the output of fluorescent light measured as specified above. This powder had an output measured through the blue filter of 86% of the output of calcium lead tungstate and measured 134% through the green filter.

As a further example, I ground, in a quart mill with flint pebbles using about cc. of water as a suspending agent, a mixture of about 49 grams of barium carbonate, 40 grams of lead carbonate, 27 grams of silicic acid containing about 91% S102 and 0.4 gram of barium fluoride. After .milling for 2 hours, the suspension was filtered,

dried and the cake crushed. It was then fired in silica vessels for 4 hours at a temperature of 1780 F. The resulting powder had a blue emission of 57% and a green emission of 158%, as compared to the output of calcium lead tungstate.

As a still further example, I have prepared a raw material blend by grinding together in a 4 gallon pebble mill, with 4.6 liters of water as a suspending agent, about 1600 grams of barium carbonate, 352grams of lead carbonate, 16 grams of barium fluoride, and 800 grams of silicic acid containing about 90% $102. This charge was removed from the mill after 6 hours grinding and was filtered, dried, and dry ground through a hammermill. It was then fired for 4 hours at a temperature of 1880 F. This powder had an output in the blue of 101% and in the green of of the output of calcium lead tungstate.

As was mentioned above, the lead-activated barium silicate phosphors Of my invention may be used advantageously as the blue-green component when blended with zinc beryllium silicates in the preparation of 3500 white, 4500 white and 6500 daylight fluorescent lamps. In the preparation of the powders for a 3500 white, for example, I have blended 36 grams of lead-activated barium silicate with 164 grams of manganeseactivated zinc beryllium silicate. In preparing the barium silicate I use about 1 mol barium oxide, about 0.1 mol lead oxide and a total of about 1.6 mols of silicic acid. In preparing the zinc beryllium silicate I use about 0.9 mol of zinc oxide, about 0.1 mol of beryllium oxide, about 0.58 mol of silicic acid, and about 0.05 mol of manganese. The barium silicate was processed in a manner similar to that described in the exmples above. When. this mater al was used a 20 wattfiuorescent lamp. the color was a visual lamp, and the lamp had an output of 48 lumens per watt at 100 hours and 43.6 iumens per watt at 1750 hours.

The presence of chlorides, particularly alkali chlorides, in appreciable amounts, should be avoided for good lumen maintenance.

What I claim is:

A blue-fiuorescing luminescent material consisting essentially of barium lead silicate having about 1.5 net mols of $102 per mol of Ba and about 0.12 mol of Pb per mol of Ba.

KEITH H. BUTLER.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,299,510 Steadman Oct. 20, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS m Number Country Date 119,671 Australia Mar. 5, 1945 Great Britain Oct. 23, 1945 

